Why realtors on Facebook should not give up.

Facebook and Realtors: A Match Made in Heaven?

Facebook is, without doubt, the flagship of social media in this era, and realtors were amongst the first professional service providers to jump aboard. Its phenomenal rise since forming in 2004 is legendary and placed the concept of social networking front-and-centre in the eyes of forward-thinking businesses and service providers. It wasn’t long before real estate brokers heard it was ESSENTIAL to have a Facebook profile. This is reflected by my specially commissioned survey, which found 91% of realtors on Facebook with at least a personal account. So, that was the hype. But like so many new paradigm-shifting developments, after the hype comes the disillusionment. Despite this significant penetration of brokers into Facebook, the same survey revealed that only 21% of brokers felt their social media efforts have helped secure listings. It seems only some realtors on Facebook have been able to crack the code to make it work as lead-generating platform.

These numbers reinforce why I often talk about social media being both a blessing and a curse, and Facebook is the perfect example. The blessing rests with the fact that its potential positive impact on business is huge while being super easy to set up and free. You can bet if it was expensive and hard to get onto Facebook, people wouldn’t be jumping on board without a plan.

The curse comes after the easy and free setup because you’re now faced with the burden of filling it with content and attracting fans. What was free in terms of dollars and cents now ends up costing a sizeable chunk of time to avoid it having a possible negative impact on your business because Facebook users who check you out as a potential broker are left unimpressed by a poorly conceived or maintained Facebook page.

The Successful Mindset of Top-Performing Realtors on Facebook

The secret to success for realtors on Facebook is to recognise it as community space rather than a branding opportunity for you or your brokerage. Branding and sales belong to your website where leads will eventually end up after engaging with you on a social media platform like Facebook.

The essential qualities to achieving top-performing broker status are to be a recognised, trusted, and credible member of your community. Increasing people’s perception of you having these important qualities comes NOT from selling yourself, but by participating in your community in a meaningful, honest and willing way. Of all the social media platforms we look at, a realtor on Facebook who is willing to engage in a meaningful way with their community is most likely to the best at enhancing these qualities in the eyes of your target market.

Create your own community or communities. Provide a valuable and valued service to different groups in your community and they will have you top of mind when they have a need to sell their home down the track.

So instead of giving up on Facebook, many (if not most) realtors will need to take a fresh look at the platform and its potential. To start with, you will need to answer the question:

How do I ensure my participation in Facebook supports my objectives as a realtor?